Canelo shuts down any possibility of a Benavidez fight

Duck

 

What else does Canelo have to lose his mexican fanbase ? he already got schooled by Crawford and Benavidez has a cruiserweight world title might as well just see how much money can be milked against David

 

At this point, there's no other way around seeing this fight was a flat-out duck. And I was a Canelo-defender. I always felt that Canelo being so much smaller was an ADVANTAGE. Once inside, his short arms COULD be am advantage, but in reality the Canelo that wouldve challenged Benavidez expired years ago.

I dont think it ruins Canelo legacy but it does get held against him

 

Tainted Mexican duck meat.

 

He never had any intention of fighting Benavidez, even if he hadn’t lost belt on the scale. It’s been beyond obvious for years.

 

Muoy pollo ginger gallo el ducko

 

How many belts did Mungia and Berlanga have again Canelo?

 

I don't like jumping on the "duck" train when it comes to fighters, but yeah I think this is definitely one.

I remember when Benavidez was at 168 and Canelo was asked about the fight plenty of times, and Canelo made excuses about not wanting to fight other boxers who are Mexican or are of Mexican heritage, which was bizarre. Next thing you know he fought Munguia, an actual Mexican. So yeah... Canelo was desperate to keep hold of those belts, and was only happy to risk losing when testing himself at 175. I remember Bivol wanting the rematch at 168 and Canelo was having none of it haha. Damn... he must have really thought he was going to beat Crawford.

 

Benavidez got stripped before Canelo had officially moved to 168 and got a fight with Callum for his WBA title and the vacant WBC title Benavidez lost. My problem is that they were in the same weight class for years and it never happened. Even when Benavidez got into mandatory position, it never happened. Canelo is still talking about going to 175 to face Bivol but won’t do the same for Benavidez. I get it though. Canelo at this stage would very likely get destroyed by Benavidez. He probably doesn’t want to deal with a fight he knows he will lose.

 

Yeah we understand you were on a belt collecting mission but you could’ve answered the call anytime since 2021. He would’ve been a credible opponent even in 21 and has only risen in profile and accomplishment. Think it was a mixture of spite initially and recognising he was dangerous and at the same time feeling that he was beneath him. Then he lost some confidence with the Bivol defeat and took some solid enough but easier touches than a Benavidez. Canelo should be beating the guys he fought since Bivol, he hasn’t challenged himself above C/B level since that defeat. Crawford is obviously elite but he was still a guy coming up from 140 naturally.

 

Will go down as one of the most blatant ducks in modern boxing history.

I understood his point at first, in that his goal was to become undisputed so he was fighting champions. Benavidez either missed weight or failed a drug test for coke iirc which resulted in him getting stripped so Canelo fought for that belt. He also just hadn't done much to be considered as the most deserving challenger at that point. A win over Dirrell and that's about it. Only reason people were calling for the fight is because based of the eye test they thought it'd be difficult for Canelo. But if he'd fought and actually beaten him then he wouldn't have gained much, and people would've just moved on to the next guy they thought would be able to beat him.

But then Benavidez went on a solid run beating Plant and Andrade and at that point there was NO ONE more deserving of a shot than him. Canelo's refusal and constant excuses as to why he wouldn't fight him were ridiculous. Really indefensible. Ryder and Munguia were solid defenses, but bringing up Charlo and fighting a mid prospect in Berlanga rather than Benavidez showed that he probably didn't like his chances against Benavidez.

 

I think we know why Canelo ducked Benavidez.

I just hope we see Benavidez and Opetaia fight.

 

Canelo's been in pretty serious decline since the third Triple G fight. You could see he wasn't the same guy anymore post Bivol. I think he knew he couldn't beat an opponent of Benavidez caliber anymore. It would have been a tough fight even if he was in his prime. He took the Crawford fight because there was so much money on the table, and he probably thought he could win against the much smaller man.